In 2009, Boris Johnson railed against the ‘corporatisation’ of public space in London. Now, as private estates mushroom from Malaysia Square to Elephant Park, he seems to have forgotten all about it
The demolition of Glasgow’s Red Road flats, broadcast live on TV and beamed around the world during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, was the iconic image of the year that, fortunately, never was.
The plan to televise the demolition was scrapped after a public outcry. Were it to have gone ahead, it would have been a fitting symbol for the destruction of affordable housing in council estates which is taking place all around the country. The process is at its most extreme in London, where scores of estates are making way for new developments of largely luxury housing in newly created, privately owned parts of the city.
Continue reading...